Young mum accidentally fills her house with deadly gas trying to unblock loo

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Ms Heath accidentally filled her house with deadly chlorine gas after she used two different chemicals hours apart, producing a cloud of toxic gas, reported Bristol Live.

The mum is now warning others to think twice before they tackle a blocked toilet.

The loo at Dominique’s home was blocked the day after Boxing Day - she thinks one of her young children put too much toilet paper or dropped a toy down there.

That afternoon, she filled the toilet with two bottles of ‘One Shot’ toilet unblocker.

But hours later when she went to have a bath and found the loo still smelly and blocked, she decided to try a different tactic and emptied a three litre bottle of bleach in.

The bleach mixed with the toilet deblocker, causing a chemical reaction and released huge quantities of chlorine gas - similar to the type used in battle zones and classed as a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

A mum-of-three caused a major chemical incident at her home after she poured three litres of bleach down her toilet (Image: Getty Images)

Three fire engines from Avon Fire and Rescue attended and cordoned off the end of her street. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the house to ventilate it more, and wash away the chemicals and make the house safe.

She and her family didn’t get back to bed and sleep until 5am the following morning.

Dominique said: “I put the kids to bed at 8pm, ran a bath, then looked in the toilet and it was still blocked. So I thought ‘I’m not getting into the bath like this’ - I’ll put my three-litre tub of bleach down there, that should do it.

“I have never experienced fumes like it. My throat and eyes feel burned.”

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Dominique said she then quickly shut the bathroom door and opened the windows around the house.

But the chlorine gas began to spread and a neighbour rang the fire brigade, who instantly ordered her to evacuate.

She posted the story on Facebook, owning up to being the person who caused the commotion in her road, and told Bristol Live she felt embarrassed at having to call out the firefighters, but said she wanted to share her story as a warning to others not to do the same.

While the reaction from her friends was one of concern - and a degree of humour - the incident could have been very serious, and many commented that they also had no idea that mixing two normal household materials could effectively create a poisonous gas cloud.

“It was really serious,” she said. “We are all ok, but it was the dumbest thing I have ever done - please don’t do this!”